The Dimmed Lights
by Best Bayne OCE
Summary: Thrown into an attempt to control the behaviour of some of the more violent champions in the League, Diana, the last of the Lunari, finds herself unwillingly matched up with the incredibly volatile and immensely powerful Syndra. And as time passes she slowly finds she has much in common with Syndra below the surface... Eventual lemons.
1. The itch

**A/N: This isn't related to the other story I'm currently working on in any way. As for why it exists...blame Tumblr.**

All was quiet as the moonlight shone over the Institute of War. The main residents of the Institute, the Champions and Summoners, had long since gone to sleep so that they could prepare for the possibility of battle the following morning, realising that being too tired to battle properly would result in disaster and a lot of painful resurrection. And every single Champion in the league thought sleep was more important than resurrection. Except one.

Approaching the top of the tallest tower of the Institute of War and cradling a container that weighed as much as the armor she was wearing, Diana marveled in the beauty of the stars in the night sky. _In the daytime, it is nothing. But in the nighttime, it is so much more. Because of the moon. _Placing the container on the ground, she eagerly opened it.

_The people from Piltover are selfish and primitive, every one of them. But their technology is irreplaceable. _She had become fascinated in Piltover as soon as she had heard the futuristic city existed, only to discover nothing but the mockery she had always despised. _They can mock the Solari for being primitive…but they cannot mock me. Soon, they will know the truth. _Slowly taking out the instrument, she began to set it up in front of her until it was finally complete. _After days of pestering, finally I can use this…. _She paused. _What was it called again? Ah yes….this telescope. _Looking through the telescope for the first time she nearly gasped at how detailed at how it made the nighttime actually could see clearer and further into the darkness than she ever had thought she could._ It's beautiful. _Entranced, she looked through the telescope for hour after hour, her tiredness slowly growing until she was nearly asleep, and eventually she thought she even saw something like a meteor flash into existence through the telescope lens. _Probably me seeing things due to how tired I am. Because I am…..feeling…rather tired. _She thought._ Maybe…I'll just…lie….down for a few…..minu__tes…._

* * *

><p><em>Itch<em>

Trying to get to sleep, Syndra rolled over onto the other side of the bed. _Fucking itch. I compete on the Fields of Justice and what do I get? Two losses and an itch. Fucking useless teammates..._

_At least I can finally get some rest._

_Itch._

_ADSADSFAGH!_

Sitting up, Syndra summoned a sphere and threw it across the room.

_How does this always happen to me? I take perfectly good care of myself and yet I get completely infested with freaking bugs!_

_Itch._

_DIE!_

Her coffee table flew into the door of her room and left it in shreds. _They take me away from my castle, and infest me with bugs!_

_I'm going to make them pay for this… _In her fury she was nearly halfway towards the summoners quarters, when she realised something. _Whatever animal infested me I must have come across in a League match. And I've only had two matches today. So….._

Changing direction she stormed towards the library and paying no attention to the closed sign, threw open the doors. Nasus looked up at her resentfully.

"_You mangy little flea ridden son of a bitch!" _She roared, not really caring what Nasus thought but just wanting to release her anger.

Nasus looked at her and grabbed his staff. _**"What did you just say?"**_

"_I said….keep your fucking fur to yourself!"_

Nasus growled at her "_**I am an ascended, and do not, and will never have…fleas!"**_

Suddenly another voice came out of nowhere.

"_**You dare insult my companion like this?!"**_

"_This is between me and him, birdface,"_

"_**My face is irrelevant**_. _**Begone!"**_

Syndra tried to figure out what that meant, only for a wall of warriors to slam into her, knocking her out of the library. _They'll pay for that. In the meantime I need see Soraka about this fucking itch! Hang on a minute... _She thought a little harder about who she had fought on the fields of justice and something occurred to her.

_Time to pay the Yordles a visit_.

* * *

><p>After getting lost in the woods multiple times, Syndra finally approached the small Yordle dormitory.<p>

_Only took me an hour to find this place. Who builds a dormitory in the middle of the woods? I mean come on..._

_Now, which of these rooms would he live in? Presumably it looks like it's been hit by a truck. _

_Let's see…no…no…no…._she stopped by the room with a broken window. _Perfect. Dark sphere….._the wall collapsed revealing a very confused looking Gnar. _Force of will…..Scatter the weak._

"_Yiiiiiiiip…"_

Watching Gnar fly off into the horizon, Syndra felt much better. Walking off she failed to notice the feline cry around when he landed or Mega Gnar coming back, until it was too late.

* * *

><p><em>High summoners council room, that night.<em>

Kolminye, the official arbiter of the summoners and the head of the entire Institute of War, stared at the report in front of her. One of the champions, the more unbalanced ones, had done something stupid. Again. She was going to do something about that. Whether or not it involved the 8 delegates sitting in front of her,was another matter.

"_This is completely outrageous!" _

"I'm well aware of that Thorin. Coffee?"

"Absolutely Kolminye_. Completely outrageous!"_

"I understand you are interested in the health of your delegates but Syndra is an exceedingly powerful mage. There is no protection against her spells._"_

"Well _what on Earth_ is she doing here, threatening Yordles_?"_

"We can't just abandon her to Ionia, that would be nearly a death sentence. We need to come up with something else. Some way to change the attitudes of these….nutcases."

Across the table more voices piped up from the delegates. "We could try a shining lights program!"

"Typical Demacian way to show off."

"The Yordles could always stop being flea infested dirtbags."

"Not helpful Sayle…..What's a shining lights program?"

"You match the champions that show the best behaviour with the ones that show the worst and they change!"

"Tha's the dumbes' thin' I ever heard!"

"And he's from Freljord."

"There aren't any well adjusted champions in the league anyway. If anything it should be a dimmed lights program!"

"That's only because you lot can't run your cities properly."

"Ye wanna pick a fight do ye?"

"Shut up you two. I think the Zaunites onto something. What's a _dimmed _lights program?"

"Well…you match all the champions with the worst behaviour with other champions that they don't actually want to kill after a few days."

"And how is that any better?"

"Well…..

The Zaunite representative paused, as if considering his options.

"Because if you pair them right you can halve the total amount of work!"

There was a loud thunk as a enormous pitcher was slammed on the table.

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

"Arrrrr!"

"Agreed!"

"For this to pass we need at least another vote."

"If I have absolutely nothing to do with this once it's passed…I agree."

"Here's to the dimmed lights program and halving our workload!"

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

Silently, Kolminye wondered how these people could possibly have been chosen for the most powerful positions in Runeterra.

* * *

><p>Silently, Syndra sat on the edge of a hospital bed. <em>I don't believe this. One Nidalee spear and I get sent to the hospital. I mean I'm perfectly fine! Almost!<em>

_And yet I have to sit here and listen to Soraka go on and on because I'm an evil person blah blah blah._

_Stupid Nidalee. Stupid Gnar._

_"_Well?"

"_Well what_?"

"C'mon you lady hore I haven't got all night!"

_"What was that?"_

"I said C'mon you lady horse I haven't got all night!"

"_I'm not a horse. Don't be rude."  
><em>

Syndra sighed. "Look I'm not sure how to get this through to you. Am. I. Better?"

_"No."_

"Why not?'

"_Because if you hadn't thrown Gnar at her, Nidalee wouldn't have thrown a spear at you. Just wait there. I'll be back soon."_

_This is ridiculous. I'm not even sore anymore, and its not like this affects my chances of getting summoned anyway._

_Bzzt. _The summoning alarm suddenly sounded in her head.

_Speaking of which..._

_Bzzzzt._

_"_Beensummonedbye."

And before Soraka could do anything in response, Syndra simply zoomed out the door.

_"Wait..."_

* * *

><p><em>Bzzzzt.<em>

Diana opened her eyes, only to nearly be blinded by the light streaming in.

_AAH WHAT TURN THAT FUCKING LIGHT OFF._

Desperately groping around for a light switch she was surprised when her hand hit a railing instead. _Where the hell is the light swit- _Suddenly she realised it was broad daylight, and then realised where she was. _Oh right. I'm on the balcony. Where I must have fallen asleep. Which means that it__'s the sun. _She walked over towards the telescope and began to deassemble it. _I'm stranded up here with the sun until I finish my research. How ironic. Could this possibly get any worse?_

At the top of the staircase someone coughed. Turning around, Diana was nearly blinded by the armor. _FU-_

The Radiant Dawn stared at her in confusion.

"Are you done?"

"What are you going to do, execute me?"

"Other people need to use this tower too."

"Well I'm sorry I interrupted your bigoted worship of the sun then!"

Leaving the rest of the telescope behind, Diana stormed off past Leona and a very confused woman holding a bird, towards the summoners chambers.

* * *

><p>Staring as Diana stormed past, Quinn turned to Leona. " So Thanks….for helping me move her I guess."<p>

Leona smiled. "It was nothing. Really."

"Do you mind me asking what that was about?"

Leona sighed. "It was nothing. It's just ….she's just different."

* * *

><p>Throwing open the door to the summoners chamber, Diana was thinking of something rude to say until she noticed around 20 other League champions in the room, and managed to refrain herself. Looking around she realised they were in an auditorium and briefly wondered if someone was going to be executed on the stage. Not that anyone would attempt it with this mad an audience.<p>

_Well this is interesting. I wonder what I've done to deserve this?_

As she took her seat next to Morgana and Maokai of all things, a heavily shielded summoner walked onto the stage.

"Ahem. Is this thing on?"

"_Geeeetttt on with itttt…"_

"Maybe if I use fishbones he'll speak faster_!"_

"Ahem. As half of you are obviously aware of, your behaviour in and surrounding your entry to the League has been terrible."

_What? For insulting people under my breath? And insulting Leona when I was drunk? Please._

"As we cannot dismiss you from the League without modifying your behaviour…

We have simply decided to pair you with other champions with better behaviour."

_Yeah right. Considering most of the champions in this room aren't paying the slightest bit of attention..._

"And if we refuse_?"_

"There are incentives to accept the offer. And punishments if you don't."

_A reward. That's more like it._

"And without further ado, I will announce the pairs!"

"Alistair Elise"

"Maokai-Zyra"

"Morgana-Mordekaiser"

_If I brought my blade I could at least pay attention to that..._

"Rumble Veigar"

"Graves Jinx"

Looking up, Diana suddenly realised nearly every seat was empty.

4_ people left in the auditorium. Me, Vayne, Vi and Syndra! and there's no way on Runeterra Syndra's sane. I can live with being on the bad behaviour list if I get paired with Vayne or Vi. _

"Vi Vayne"

_Wait what did he just say?_

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Vi lunged at the summoner preparing to punch him, only for Vayne to trip her up midway.

"And that leaves Diana and Syndra."

_Me…..and Syndra. I have to help Syndra with her behaviour._

_I have to help a mage who tears dormitories apart and tries to kill champions for petty revenge, with her behaviour._

Turning around, she saw Syndra floating next to her and instantly got a pit in her stomach. Standing there waiting for Syndra to introduce herself, she suddenly realised that Syndra was waiting for the same thing, and the pit widened to take up nearly her entire chest.

"Hi…." _  
><em>

_That was bad. That was bad. Why on Runeterra did I spend my entire youth reading!_

"Hello there…..weakling."

_I can't talk to her like this…I need to think up an excuse, fast!_

"I need to go do something…..do you want to meet up in an hour?"

"Yes…that suits me. Go ahead and do your….thing. I will meet you outside my apartment in one hour."

"Ok….bye?" Turning around she saw Syndra floating in the other direction and cursed to herself. _Talk about making a shitty first impression. I need to at least be able to talk to her properly to have any chance of making this work. Which means….I think it's time I hit the bar for a few hours._

* * *

><p>As Syndra made her way back to the castle she began to wonder why she was attempting this pointless game. <em>Any reward the summoners can offer me is useless compared to the power I seek. Although….Diana could be interesting.<em>

From what she'd already heard and seen of the woman from before they met and when Diana actually made her entrance, she knew that was clearly the complete opposite of what she had seen just then. Now she just needed to test her a little and see what she was actually like. _And if that means throwing a few obstacles in her way...so be it. _

_Did I mention where my apartment was? I don't think I mentioned where my apartment was._

She smiled.

This was a good start_._


	2. Bowling

The Institute's original design was to be a miniature city in which the champions and summoners could live nearly normal lives, and in which opportunistic people could sell whatever the champions wanted. This meant even before the League opened, there was already a bar, a club, and a tavern nearby. The bar Diana avoided like the plague, and the tavern… She wasn't returning there again. Which left the club, which she was perfectly fine with. After all it had no fighting, no shouting, nearly no lighting to speak of, it didn't stink like the inside of a sewer…

The drinks were expensive but she could live with that.

In fact the only reason she didn't live at the bar in her downtime was the bartender.

The incredibly_ cute _looking_, _absolutely_ irritating_ bartender.

"_Dianaaaaa….." _As Diana walked to the counter Ahri started bouncing in her direction.

"_Soooo…_What are you going to waste away your life with today?"

_I'm in a good mood. I can handle this. _

"Put the usual on my bill."

"Are you going to stay all night again?"

"No."

"_Pleeeaaaseee…"_

"I have to be somewhere in an hour."

"Are you going to come back afterwards?" As Ahri started doing poro eyes in her direction, Diana stared at the ceiling instead.

"No."

"But I want to hear your _storiiiiieeessss_…"

Taking an enormous gulp of the mead in front of her, Diana tried to keep a straight face, and hoped it would fool Ahri.

"I don'"t know what stories you're talking about."

"Then clearly you're not happy enough!"

As Diana looked up, Ahri slammed another pitcher full of mead on the table in front of her.

_Why did I ever give her my bill details? _

_Probably because she waited until I was drunk before asking…_

_And because I agreed every time. _

Taking a swig from the 2nd pitcher Ahri went to get a third one just as Diana looked up.

"For _fucks sake_! I've already told you I have to meet someone!"

Turning around, Ahri bounced back over to her.

_Shit. I didn't mean to say that…_

"Who is _iiiit_?"

"None of your business. I didn't even want to meet her anyway until they forced me to."

"You're so bitchy when you're sober."

"I have a lot to be bitchy about. Besides, you're going to learn who it is in 3…2..1..."

At precisely that moment, Vi furiously burst through the door followed by Caitlyn who seemed to be trying very hard to keep a straight face.

"Those _fuckers _think I'm insane? We'll see how insane they think I am once I've beaten the crap out of them!"

Diana decided now was probably the best time for her to leave. "What's your problem? You and Vayne are perfect for each other."

"Oh _please. _Unlike you and Syndra, I have absolutely nothing in common with that fucking goth."

The very idea of Syndra and her having anything in common made Diana want to punch Vi in the face. "Now listen here. I can think of 100 ways that Syndra is completely different and…"

"List them."

Diana knew she had to leave, but Vi was absolutely asking for it and she never backed down from a challenge…

Syndra wouldn't mind if she was a few minutes late. Surely.

* * *

><p>After practically bolting from the bar 20 minutes later and 85 reasons earlier than she meant to, Diana ran into the Ionian "dormitory" and found Syndra absolutely nowhere to be seen. Not only that, but everyone in the hallway was staring at her like she was an alien. Then she knew she was in trouble.<p>

"You! Inertia!"

"Inertia? Seriously?"

"Whatever! Where's Syndra?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

Diana stared at her with a confused expression on her face, before suddenly realising the familiarity of the situation.

"Isn't she an…_oh for fucks sake…."_

Bolting out of the dormitory she looked around.

_She doesn't even tell me where she lives! That arrogant manipulative little…._

She spin around. _Wait a minute_. _If I was arrogant, manipulative and made people want to punch my face in where would I live…. _

There were only 3 places Syndra would live, and Diana knew who owned the other two_. _

_And it's only ten minutes if I sprint._

Despite everything she had just been through, Diana broke into a sprint towards Syndra's "apartment."

* * *

><p>"Only" half an hour later than she expected to arrive, Diana knocked on the door of Syndra's living quarters, not even bothering to use the doorknocker that had most likely come free with the rest of the apartment, which apparently meant "large mansion." Opening the door, Syndra raised an eyebrow at Diana.<p>

"_I….found…..your….apartment…"_

"Are you usually this late?"

"_I…had…a…few…drinks." _There was no way Diana was apologising to Syndra, although Syndra didn't seemed annoyed by this in the slightest.

"Come in."

Looking around, Diana was amazed at how spacious the entire place was, due to a lack of furniture than anything else. A few portraits of Syndra hung on the wall and there were books lying everywhere that seemed to be on every topic imaginable.

Looking around for a seat, Diana leant against the wall completely exhausted.

"Unlike most humans, I don't suffer from exhaustion. However I do have a seat for unusual occasions. Here…"

Sitting down, Diana stared at the seat she was sitting on. It felt…unusual, but she had absolutely no idea why.

"So…what do you want to do now?" Diana threw the question out hoping to make the conservation more involved than it was. Syndra was talkative, she just…didn't seem to care about anything to do with Diana. Which was actually perfectly fine in Diana's opinion but didn't help the conversation.

"You can decide. I don't feel like it." _That was odd. _

Diana paused. _Trap. Definitely a trap._ Realising it wasn't a trap she could wriggle out of, she desperately came up with ideas.

_Nothing Ionian…No Zaun…No Noxus…_

_Only one place in Zaun. _

_Only one place she won't get bored to tears by and it's that. _

_Oh boy. _

"So Syndra….how do you feel about going bowling?"

Out of all the places that Syndra would have expected to exist in the Institute, a bowling alley would not have been one of them. But however stupid this _bowling _thing seemed to sound, apparently it was a popular idea from Zaun, which Syndra wasn't surprised by.

_They take the simplest form of magic I can use and make people pay to enjoy the experience. _

_Interesting…and well worth paying money to watch. _

As they approached the bowling alley Syndra looked at Diana with curiousity.

"Have you ever actually bowled before?"

"Yes...Once or twice. Usually I do try and do something interesting in my free time."

"Was the paint peeling off the outside when you last went here?"

"Last time I came here it was dark. And I wasn't paying attention. The inside is….better."

As they entered the bowling alley Syndra was assaulted by the smell of some sort of confectionery. _This is better? _The bowling alley itself was filled with nearly completely random objects. A pool table. A bar, with a sleeping bartender. A few barstools. A sign saying "In the Shadow Isles the ball rolls YOU!"

"Well if we haven't got a few early arrivals…"

"None of your business, Singed."

"Shoes are on the right."

"What do you mean…_oh come on…"_

As Diana left, Syndra walked over to the bar.

"Put 3 drinks on my bill. I'll serve myself."

She didn't normally have any urge to drink, but if her magic was as accurate as it usually was she would be forced into using her arms. So it was time to reduce her accuracy by a bit. Just a little bit. After all, what could possibly go wrong…

* * *

><p>56-58<p>

Diana was so tense it was incredible. Everything around her seemed to be a distraction every flicker of light magic seemed to be trying to throw her off her game. _It's just bowling. It's just bowling…_

_2 pins difference. _She shut her eyes, ran straight towards the pins, released….

56-66

_8 pins. Not bad. _

Syndra was drinking, as the flying wine glasses made rather obvious. The scary thing was that a Syndra drunk enough to nearly spill her drinks midair was only a few pins behind her in bowling. Not that Syndra used her arms for anything of course.

_Why did I invite Syndra to bowliing of all things? Orianna would have probably been a better choice!_

Preparing the shot, Syndra paused dead still in front of the pins for a few seconds, then released.

Every pin but one fell..

65-66

As Diana prepared the next shot she heard someone walk into the bowling alley but tried desperately to ignore it.

"Nice lighting they have here…"

"Are we the first ones to arrive?"

"The birthday boys late."

_Breathe in…._

_Breathe out…._

_Release. _

8 skittles again. If Syndra kept this up….

"Evening."

"Where's your brother?"

"It's his birthday. How am I supposed to know?"

Diana was paying so much attention to the voices behind her she didn't even notice it was her turn until Syndra sat down next to her, completely rigid.

She looked up.

74-74

_Last turn. It's completely beyond my control. Just give it my best shot. Ok._

"Quinn…you look fantastic!"

Turning around to see her score she turned around at the last possible moment to see her score.

_80-74_

_6 pins _

_I can't win off 6 pins unless Syndra screws up. _

_And there's no way Syndra's going to screw up…._

She watched intently as Syndra went for her last strike.

"WHO'S READY FOR THE BEST FUCKING PARTY THEY HAVE EVER SEEN!"

Midway through releasing the ball, Syndra froze. And in that split second, the ball slipped out of her hands. Diana stared as if witnessing a miracle. Syndra had already started moving murderously towards the source of the noise, who had apparently just arrived.

And the ball veered off to the side.

_80-80 _

"Syndra…"

Diana turned around, only to find Syndra floating with absolute murder in her eyes in the directly towards the group of Noxians. .

_Fucking hell. Is she trying to get cut to pieces…._

"_Syndra!"_

Sprinting towards the mage she grabbed her by the shoulder and roughly tried to turn her around only for the mage to furiously throw her off.

"_Out of my way, cretin!"_

"Look atthe_ fucking_ score Syndra, it's a tie!_"_

Syndra turned, looked at the score and then looked at Diana.

"_Again_."

"What?"

"_Verse...me... AGAIN!"_

"Why would I verse you again? You nearly just flipped out!" If there was one thing Diana didn't need it was being involved in mass murder while the police force of Piltover were watching.

"I am_ not _letting a_ snivelling coward _such as you to_ get away with besting me _because of an _arrogant halfwit of a man!"_

The entire bowling hall went quiet. Diana went as close to Syndra as she possibly could without attracting attention and hissed at her.

"Now listen here bitch, I was nearly executed by my entire race for speaking up against them, and had to flee into the Freljord and fend off assassins for months at a time because I stood up for my fucking beliefs, so I am NOT a fucking coward. You want to bowl…bring it on!"

Across the room Draven called out.

"Hey Jayce you hear that, those bitches want your head!"

Diana would have watched the ensuing free for all except she was too busy putting even more drinks on her bill at the bar.

_If I'm going to prove my fucking point, I'm going to need a lot more beer…_

* * *

><p>Syndra squinted in the direction of her score.<p>

_445? No that doesn't make any sense. _

_Doesn't it? How many rounds are there in bowling anyway?_

She wasn't sure when she had started drinking again, but she knew that someone would tell her when she was done. Or something.

_Wasn't that Diana's job? _

_Am I talking to Diana?_

There was a loud noise behind her and she started drinking again just in case. The drinking didn't help her bowling but it had stopped her from snapping and throwing a pool table at the champions behind her, and blurred all the yelling and shouting into one massive sort of throbbing noise from behind her.

_How the fuck do you need a whole bowling alley for a party anyway?_

She walked up and using her magic threw the ball straight in the direction of the skittles.

_5? So I'm on…something. _

_God I'm tired. I think I might have had a bit much to drink. _

_But they were fighting so loudly…_

_And then they started singing…_

_And they kept going for so long…_

_Then they fought again…._

Another score. _6….That bitch is trying to ruin me isn't she?_

_Trying to fucking ruin me! _

_I get drunk and she goes out and takes the opportunity to rub how shitty I am in everyone's faces…._

_Just wait until I'm sober. I'll fucking show her, I'll fucking RUIN her. _

_I just need to get some sleep. _

She got onto her feet.

"I'm…I'm leaving _bitch!"_

"O-oh yeah? Go ahead you selfish piece of shit!"

"Fine!"

And with that Syndra propelled herself out of the bowling alley and down the street.

The entire area seemed to be spinning around in front of her as she slowly walked down the street. _Right turn here and….and…shit. _

Looking around, the entire area in front of her seemed to become a giant blur of light and darkness. She staggered forwards desperately into the darkness, stumbling and tripping until she was on her hands and knees. _Grass….I need to keep moving…but I'm so tired…and champions sleep on grass too don't they? Like Nidalee and…_a flash of purple interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see something small and round fall from the sky landing directly in front of her. _Oh god…not Kassadin….I just want to go to sleep!_

Suddenly there was an explosion of purple light that blossomed out in front of her, and Syndra had her wish.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Just something to clarify a little about what's happening in the background of the bowling alley.. <em>**

**_My original idea was that both Draven and Ezreal decided completely independently of one another to have their birthdays at exactly the same time, in the bowling alley. B_****_ecause great minds think alike. _****_However since Diana and Syndra both don't give a crap about either of them, I couldn't think of a way to say that specifically in the story, s_****_o it just sort of happens in the background. _**

**_Hope that clears things up. _**

**_-BestBayneOCE_**


	3. Shock

_Ow. _

_This headache…..This fucking headache!_

In an attempt to get rid of the headache, Syndra rolled over, only to find it made her feel worse. Desperately, she attempted to summon herself a glass of water.

_Water._

No response. Annoyed, Syndra sat up while keeping her eyes tightly closed and repeated the gesture.

"_Wa-ter"_

Nothing.

_My magic. It's not working. _

_WHY ISN'T MY MAGIC WORKING?_

Throwing open her eyes she suddenly realised she wasn't actually in her castle but rather chained to what appeared to be an Ionian hospital bed.

"_SORAKA!"_

"_RELEASE ME OR I'LL…!"_

"_We're keeping you here for your own safety."_

"_LIES! I'LL HAVE KARMA'S HEAD FOR THIS!"_

Soraka chose exactly that moment to leave rather hurriedly, which only made Syndra angrier.

"I'LL. HAVE. HER. HEAD!"

* * *

><p>"There's a problem?"<p>

"_She's…..worse than usual. She wants your head."_

"Why are _we _in charge of her wellbeing again?"

"_She is an Ionian."_

"Only because she couldn't be bothered fleeing the country. Do we know _anything _

about how this happened? Isn't the Institute meant to keep track of this?"

"Have you tried speaking to Diantha?"

"Who?"

"Moon lady. She asked about her yesterday evening."

"Well go find her then!"

* * *

><p><em>I think I've been drinking again. <em>

_What….what happened again?_

_Oh. Right. _

_Fuck Syndra. Fuck her and….whatever she did. _

Trying to remember what happened last night Diana only found enormous blanks in her memory.

She had been bowling….then Syndra had done something and left the bowling alley furious at her and….and something. But her legs felt sore and she felt like shit. And apparently someone had found her and brought her back to the bar.

_Fuck her, fuck Ionia, fuck this hangover. _

_At least I'm comfortable. Ahri must have been here when I arrived for some reason…ugh. _

Somewhere nearby a door swung open.

"Hello? Anyone here?"

"Fucking Ionians…"

"Irelia! Nice to see you here!" Ahri literally sprung out of nowhere, jumped over Diana and ran over to the bar.

"No time. I need to know where Diana drinks, now!"

"Why?"

"Matter of national security."

"She's over there, but be careful. _She's sleeping."_

As Diana slowly realised they were talking about her, something wet landed on her face and she vaulted upright.

"What the….._fuck_ was that for!"

Throwing a punch at the culprit she suddenly found her arms wrenched out of position and forced behind her back.

Behind her, Irelia stood menacingly. "For the safety of Ionia you're coming with me."

* * *

><p><em>Syndra. Fucking Syndra's behind this. I knew it. <em>

"Now tell these two what you told me."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'll tell them."

"You Ionians think you're so _fucking_ smart don't you." Diana guessed that this was probably the wrong thing to say but was far too furious and hungover to care.

"Well that was rather blunt._"_

"_She appears to have been drinking recently_."

"I took Syndra bowling it was a godawful experience we both ended up drinking. Can. .Now."

"Around midnight last night Syndra was found unconscious in a park, with the area around her hit by some sort of magical explosion. Because she calls herself an Ionian, we were summoned to take care of her, which we did until she woke up, and became hostile.."

"So what. Someone attacked her, not my problem."

"Do you know anyone who would try to kill the most powerful mage in Ionia?"

"Do you actually have any better ideas? It's not like she would…."

Pausing for disbelief Diana tried not to laugh at how ridiculous the idea sounded.

"_It's not funny."_

"She's an arrogant snob with a mansion and magical powers! She has everything! And what exactly do you think I can do anyway?"

"_Talk to her. See if you can…."_

Without bothering to listen to the rest of the sentence, Diana walked straight into Syndra's room.

* * *

><p>"<em>Do you think Diana's telling the truth?"<em>

"I don't think she knows the actual truth behind Syndra. But at least we don't have to worry about Syndra. For now."

* * *

><p>"If it makes you feel any better I feel just as shitty as…"<p>

Entering the room Diana stopped mid stride in confusion at the chained figure in the bed.

_Who the fuck is….?!_

Every sense of Diana's told her that had to be Syndra but if that was the case….she looked awful.

Syndra lay chained to a bed in the centre of the room with bedsheets lying scattered on the floor around her. Her arms were cut and bruised, her hair was completely unkempt around her, her chest was slowly moving up and down and her face….

Diana realised that Syndra, one of the most insane and powerful mages in Runeterra had tears streaming down her face.

Out of curiosity, Diana inched closer until she was unashamedly staring at Syndra from a few feet away.

"Are…" Syndra didn't respond, and continued to stare past her as if she didn't exist.

"Are you alright?"

Diana found herself flinching as Syndra breathed out onto her face. As Syndra continued to lay nearly motionless, Diana slowly began to panic.

_Is she even alive..?_

_Is she…_

"Traitor."

"I'm not a traitor."

Diana wasn't sure who she was saying the words to, other than herself. Syndra seemed to have all her personality and energy drained completely out of her.

_There's…There's nothing left. _

"You got me drunk so the Ionian's could…"

Syndra mumbled something unintelligible while Diana sat there in confusion.

_She thinks the Ionians have taken her captive._

_Well that isn't too far from the truth._

_So why does there seem to be something else?_

Then she suddenly remembered.

She remembered uselessly slamming her body against the walls of a cell throughout the night. Praying for something, anything to save her, and lying beaten and mentally broken for the rest of the night. And waking the next morning hardly caring for everything around her.

It was just before….before _that _happened.

Suddenly awakening from her trance she found herself recoiling off the bed and away from Syndra.

_She thinks she's going to die. And giving her magic back might not change her mind with her like this! _

_Unless..._

Syndra wasn't quite sure what was happening. She was certain that she had been captured, that the Ionians were going to kill her while she was powerless…..

And then the woman she had been drinking with last night, Diana, walked in and everything had stopped making sense.

"Syndra, listen to me. No-one wants to kill you, alright? It's all just a big misunderstanding."

_Huh?_

She stared at Diana, not sure whether to believe what she was saying. She knew it was a lie, but it sounded genuine….

Despite having exhausted herself trying to escape, she weakly began to protest.

"But they chained me….my magic…I'm powerless…

In a voice so condescending and caring that Syndra began to wonder if she was dreaming, Diana responded.

"But you're not powerless are you? You've done lots of things with your magic before now haven't you? Who would want to try and kill someone as powerful as you?"

_Is she telling the truth? Is this a dream?_

_The Ionians want to kill me, but they can't kill me because I have magic, but I don't have magic but I'm too powerful to lose my magic, so that means…._

Desperately, she began to believe in the one small hope that she still had.

"Is this a dream?"

"Why wouldn't it be a dream?"

Something about the tone of Dianas voice was bothering Syndra but if she was going to die then how did being patronised matter?

"It's not very interesting"

There was a strange pause, then Diana spoke again.

"That's because I haven'tstarted to tell the story yet."

"What story?"

"Let me tell you a story about the moon and the sun..."

* * *

><p><em>Once upon a time there was a city known as Solaria, where all the people worshipped the sun because it gave out warmth and magic to the people living in the city. But there were also people that doubted the sun, that believed it was too bright, too hot, that it caused all their crops to die, and these people began to doubt the Sun's powers. But the sun heard these doubts, and even though more and more people began to doubt the sun it stayed where it was and guarded the people.<em>

_And then one day…_

_It vanished. _

_The sun never rose to shine its light upon the people. Without the light, the crops failed to grow. With the light and heat gone nobody could see and the temperature dropped to freezing. And the doubters realised their mistake. _

_Desperately everyone, even the most doubtful people began to pray for the sun to return_

_And even as they prayed the sun heard their cries for help and before their eyes it returned to them. And as the sun returned the warmth arrived and the crops began to grow before their very eyes, and the Solari swore to never doubt the sun again. And that is why they worship the sun. _

* * *

><p>As Diana somehow finished reciting the story from memory, she noticed that Syndra was nearly completely asleep. Slowly, she began trying to get off the hospital bed without disturbing her, only for Syndra to begin to talk again.<p>

"Are you going to….story about….moon…?

"Maybe tomorrow. Now go to sleep."

Outside, Diana found three Ionians staring at her.

"How _did_ you do that?"

"It was nothing. She was in shock, so I convinced her she was dreaming the entire thing."

"And _you_ figured that out?"

"It's happened to me before."

"_So what are we meant to do now?"_

"Just….try not to make it look like you're holding her prisoner."

And before any of the Ionians could ask difficult questions, Diana swiftly walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>Literally throwing herself upright, Syndra stared at her surroundings.<p>

_I just had the most bizarre dream where some Ionian's were holding me captive. _

She moved her arms. No chains.

_It must have just been really realistic. Except for the part where Diana told me a story. _

_But that doesn't make any sense, because if it was a dream….why am I thirsty now?_

Soraka walked into the room, saw her sitting upright and froze.

"_Hi_."

"Why am I here?"

"_You went into shock."_

_Shock? Seriously? She has to be lying._

_If I wasn't so thirsty…._

"Water. Now."

_As soon as she gets me that water, I'm leaving, and nobodies going to stop me._

As she watched Soraka leave, she slowly eased herself out of the hospital bed and immediately noticed a small bound package on the bedside table.

_Hmm?_

_Did someone leave me something?_

Opening the package she looked at the object in confusion.

_Who gave me this?_

_Does it do anything? Doesn't seem to. But who would want to give me a crystal?_

_Diana and Zed aren't stupid enough._

_Taric would keep it,, LeBlanc knows damn well what I want, _

_Lissandra…..even if it is blue I've already told her it's too cold for me up there!_

_So that leaves….Malphite. _

Slightly irritated, she stared at the ceiling for a few seconds

_Wellthatdoesntmakeanyfuckingsense._

"_Your water. Do you want me to…?"_

"Yes, because I'm obviously far too lazy to do it myself."

Soraka stared at her in sort of disbelief for a few seconds then silently went over to pour the water.

"I was being .TIC. I have telepathy, _dumbass_."

As Syndra began to focus on the jug of water she wondered for a split second if she felt more _vibrant _than usual.

_Oh come on, I've done this hundreds of times at home. _

_What's the worst that could happen?_

"Water."

Then the jug exploded.

Water was sent flying in all directions, cascading over everything in the room. Soraka, who looked like she had taken a water balloon to the chest, looked directly at Syndra in shock, who somehow was still completely dry. Syndra stared back at Soraka in amusement and fascination at what exactly she had just done.

Then she burst out laughing.


	4. The storm Rises

_**Compulsory thankyou to the readers, who I live for, tumblr, and to the other authors on this site, where I get all of my ideas. Some of them are more blatantly obvious than others.**_

_**Also in case you haven't guessed this isn't actually a hurt/comfort anymore, because I am allergic to the entire genre.**_

_**So have some fluff and the leadup to the next chapter, in which stuff actually happens. **_

_**-BBO**_

* * *

><p>Reading had always been one of Diana's favourite hobbies. It hadn't been any help to her as a child, and had turned out to be more of a hindrance than anything else, but it had become so ingrained in her mind it was impossible to tell if she was enjoying it or not. And no-one had punished her for reading in the Institute yet, which was a nice change. The unfortunate downside to that apparently, was that other people used the library as well<em>. <em>

_I leave for just a couple of minutes, and someone takes the book I was reading and walks off with it. And if I find them I'm going to pretend they're part of the Solari and just…_

Midway through trying to decide who should suffer more, Diana suddenly realised there was a blonde lady sitting and reading just a few tables across from her, that hadn't actually been there a few seconds ago. The woman's name completely escaped her, but she knew she was a champion. A champion that right now appeared to be reading her book.

_Oh joy. _

"Are you reading my book?"

The woman looked up at her and gave a pleasant smile which only made Diana uneasy. _Demacians. _

"Forbidden Romance of the Kinkou?"

_I'm not going to be able to live with this. _

"Yes,…I was reading that a few minutes ago. Could you…"

"You're reading the series too?!"

_Somebody heard that. Someone definitely has to have heard that. _

"Yes. Back to the…"

"Whatdidyouthinkoftheendofthelastbook? Wheretheyrealisethattheycanonlyovercometheirissuesiftheworktogetgerandtheirloveonly

makesthemstronger?"

_Well I actually thought it was well written but there's no way I'm going to mention that in public. _

"Honestly I thought that…."

Apparently the woman wasn't actually going to let her answer the question because she started talking about a new chapter immediately as Diana went to speak.

"I'm trying to…"

" .Andimeanthatotherloveinterest…."

_Oh for fucks sake._

Irritated to the point of being enraged, Diana magically pulled everything nearby towards her in the hope it would distract the damn woman so she could speak.

The woman stopped talking.

Diana opened her mouth.

"OHMYGOD. This is just like that chapter where…."

Storming off, Diana was too furious to hear Lux talking to herself as she left.

* * *

><p>Watching Diana leave, Lux smiled mischievously before leaving the library and taking the romance novel with her.<p>

_Some people are way to easy to fool._

* * *

><p>After leaving the library, Diana wondered if this day could get any worse, only to have a bespectacled woman nearly walk straight into her as soon as she left.<p>

"C-champion Diana?"

Apparently it could.

"_Hmph."_

_The institute probably wonders why I'm not doing anything. Well they're getting exactly what they deserve. _

"I'm one of your biggest fans…"

_Oh look, another misguided fool._

"_Good for you."_

"And I was just wondering if you wanted to join in some team matches?!"

"Well I _don't_."

After a brief pause as if the woman couldn't quite believe what she had just heard, she started slowly walking away with Diana tailing her from behind. Then Diana broke the silence.

"What'-s your name."

The woman stared at her in complete confusion.

"Jasmine…..why?"

"I should know my summoners name for these matches at the very least."

Another awkward silence, followed by Jasmine blushing furiously.

"You can call me what everyone else calls me if you want…"

"What is it?"

"….moonmoon…"

"Is that supposed to be embarrassing?"

"It's not the name that's embarrassing! It's because I did something…."

Diana stared at her before simply grunting. "I'm not going to ask about it."

Suddenly they stopped and Diana found herself outside a meeting hall with Jasmine fidgeting next to her.

"...I have to go talk to the other summoners now. Are you coming with me or…"

"I didn't think I had a choice."

And before Jasmine could answer, Diana walked straight into the meeting hall.

* * *

><p>Syndra was bored. Why she was bored she wasn't entirely sure, but if she forced herself to practice her magic any longer she felt she was going to break something out of frustration.<p>

Which meant she was now randomly walking through the centre of the city. Looking around, a store randomly caught her eye, and she impulsively entered, only to find customer service bordering on non-existent..

"Hi."

"…"

"I said. HI."

As Syndra looked around the inside of the store, the woman managed to remove herself from the desk she was hiding under.

"You're…her right?"

"Who?"

"Syndra. The lady with the dark magic."

"Well obviously."

"Can…can I help you?"

"Well if you could stay upright long enough for me to purchase some swimwear that would probably be quite useful. Now if you'll excuse me…."

* * *

><p><em>Well this isn't half as bad as I thought it would be. <em>

Diana wasn't entirely sure whose idea it was to get this team together or how many games they had actually played with each other before, but the fact that no-one else on the team could socialise to save themselves helped. That, and they all hated the Institute.

"Alright guys, you know the plan. Diana, leave mid start ganking bot at 6. Malphite, do the same. Their team is all from one region so this should be pretty straightforward. Let's do this!"

As the rift emerged into Diana's view she immediately started moving towards the mid lane.

"Who am I against?"

"Mordekaiser. "

"Who?"

"The knight guy. With no face."

"That's really helpful. Why is your nickname moonmoon of all things anyway?"

"Oh it's….mostly because I'm really interested in space, all that sort of stuff. And because I'm from Demacia and not Piltover or Zaun, people…they make fun of me."

Their brief conversation was suddenly interrupted by another summoners voice.

"Earth to moonmoon. Maokai needs a leash."

"On it!"

"Jasmine."

"Yes?"

"If people are making fun of you…don't do what I did."

"What did you do?"

"…"

"GUYS, WATCH OUT!"

As Diana turned to fade the enemy jungle a hook flew past, grabbing her around one leg.

"_**What's dead and has 12 legs?! The SHADOW ISLES COUNTERJUNGLING SQUAD!"**_

As an undead horse and a completely insane _thing_ charged towards her Diana turned around and grunted in pain.

_Bring it. _

Then she pulled the two towards her and light started blasting in all directions.

* * *

><p>The main problem with being Captain of the guard was that people expected you to solve <em>everything. <em>And if the problems weren't painful, as they often were, things could get somewhat unusual. But not usually this unusual.

"When you told me the lake was acting unusual, I assumed that was a problem with the _lake. _Not the _water."_

"And…."

"Come on Udyr, I'm not a mage, what do you expect me to do? Ask it to stop being 3 dimensional? It's not even hurting anyone, it's just sitting there being _square."_

"I guess you're right. But it _is_ a lot of water though."

"What's the worst thing that could happen?"

Then the bubble fell on top of Irelia and disintegrated.

Udyr, who the bubble had missed completely, simply stood there and stared at the resulting mess.

"So….someone doesn't like you very much?"

* * *

><p><em>Ok. <em>

_All I have to do is defend the nexus and inhibitors from the enemy team. Nothing to worry about at all._

"Moonm-Jasmine. I need to know who's alive on the enemy team. "

"Just their mid laner."

"Oh boy."

Walking towards nearest inhibitor, Mordekaiser paused as Diana raised her blade.

"_**How does it feel to want to kill every Solari you can find, but instead to be trapped inside the Institute of War?" **_

Suddenly swinging his mace, Mordekaiser began to slowly shred the inhibitors health.

"I don't _want_ to kill them. They just keep getting in the way."

"_**Liar."**_

Another swing.

Despite his unnerving accuracy, Diana honestly didn't feel like agreeing with a living suit of armor, saying out loud the first thing that came to mind.

"Don't you have _anything _else you could be concerned with?"

"_**Well now my flash is off cool down….BEHOLD MY CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE!"**_

There was a flash of light, and suddenly a mace was flying towards her face, which she quickly deflected with her blade before reacting with a crescent of moonlight.

"_**We can do this slowly...**_

As Diana shielded herself, Mordekaiser did the same thing with shreds of flying metal and siphoned everything in front of him.

_Yeah that sounds about right. _

Charging at him, Diana suddenly teleported twice in the space of a few seconds and slammed her blade directly into him.

Then he laughed.

"_**You can't even try to damage me. And now you die!"**_

As another siphon slammed into her, Diana realised how close to dying she actually was just as she suddenly became ignited. Then something flew past her. She looked up. Another far larger object flew past her and straight into Mordekaiser before knocking him into the air.

"Diana, move!"

As she made her way back to the shop she saw the rest of the team respawning behind her. And less than 3 minutes later, the game was theirs.

* * *

><p>Completely exhausted, Diana went to throw herself through the door to her apartment, only to find someone standing in front of the doorway.<p>

_Why can't people just leave me ALONE!_

"Is there a reason you're here? Because I've had just had a league match, I'm tired and if you don't move out of the way I might have to…"

At the sound of her voice the woman turned around and Diana barely stopped herself from coughing.

"Syndra? Have you been…."

Trying not to say something rude she though up the most inoffensive thing she could.

"…..letting yourself go?"

This only gathered a blank stare from Syndra, who then shoved a bag towards her.

"Are you going you explain this or…."

"Why would it need explaining?"

_Because it looks like you've lost your mind?_

Although Diana was honestly wondering how Syndra had managed to look so damn attractive, the fact Syndra was wearing a dress of all things was setting off enormous alarm bells no matter how long and violet it happened to be.

"Because I've never seen you wearing a dress. Ever."

"It's summer and I thought I'd wear a dress. Like everyone else does when it's summer."

As Syndra finished the sentence the window on the opposite end of the hallway began to rattle.

"Is that _a problem_?"

"No. It's just…"

"Good. Put these on."

Diana looked in the bag, looked up at Syndra, then looked in the bag again.

"You're not _fucking _serious."

"I am. I bought it for you today."

"There's no _fucking_ way I'm being seen dead in this."

"Put it on."

"No."

"Why not?"

_If anyone catches me in this I'll fucking never live me down!_

"It's worshipping the sun!"

"Wearing a bikini is worshipping the sun?"

"Yes!"

The window rattled a bit more then stopped, as Syndra decided that was a reasonable excuse and stared at her in contempt.

"Well I'll just go back to my apartment, get changed and go down there myself."

"You can use mine if you want."

Syndra was still staring, although now in confusion rather than anything else.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going with you. But as soon as you mention the bikini again…."

As a door slammed Diana turned around only to find Syndra had already shut herself in Diana's apartment.

"Don't touch anything! It might be valuable!"

No response.

Diana facepalmed.

* * *

><p>As Diana made her way onto the small island the League used for leisure visits, she realised that just looking at Syndra made her feel embarrassed, although mostly for everyone else involved. Syndra had ditched the dress for an identically coloured bikini long ago, and apparently without the headdress, the floating above the ground and the massive ego, people actually thought she was attractive.<p>

_I'm not sure who I feel sorry for more. The men who haven't realised who she is yet, or Syndra. Come to think of it…._

"Syndra, why are we here?"

"Do I need a reason?"

Diana launched her next comment nearly without thinking and instantly regretted it.

"There are a lot of men staring at you."

There was an awkward silence.

Syndra instantly turned a shade of beet red and slapped Diana in the face.

"I'm not a slut!"

As she stormed off, Diana turned around to offer some sort of apology, only to find a woman staring at them through a pair of binoculars.

* * *

><p>If there was one thing that had learned to fear over months of being a fugitive, it was being watched. During the first few months the fear of the Rakkor catching her and bringing her back to the Solari had been very very real, and from that a very deep paranoia had developed. Which probably explained why she was attempting to intimidate a fully armed woman, who was trying to intimidate her back.<p>

"So what's this about then? Or do I have to break your limbs to get a useful answer?"

"I was spying on Syndra, not you."

"And why were you spying on her then? Or is this now the League of Lesbians?"

"As the Captain of the Ionian guard it's my duty to investigate threats to Ionia. And Syndra has recently been….._unstable."_

_Compared to what?_

"And what is_ that _supposed to mean_?"_

"She tried to drown me with an entire lakes worth of water."

_That seems perfectly acceptable behaviour to…wait a minute. _

"You're telling me…she can control water."

"She didn't tell...Now do you see why I was spying on her?"

"Well did you see where she went?"

"I probably would have if you hadn't attempted to throttle me!"

"Oh for fucks sake. You go to one side of the island, I'll go to the other. If she's here to kill someone…"

_She has a lot of water to do it with._

* * *

><p><em>I put all this effort into making friends with her and she turns around and accuses me of being a slut!?<em>

_How dare Diana insult me like that!?_

_How dare she?!_

"I would have killed her a thousand times over if I wasn't so embarrassed…"

"Embarrassed about what?"

Surprised, Syndra turned around, only to grunt in disgust at the figure behind her.

"_Fuck_ _off_."

"Why?"

"Because I don't feel like talking to a mutated fish _thing,"_

Picking up her pace she continued walking down the otherwise completely deserted beach, only to find the fish walking behind her.

"I _said _stop following me!"

"I'm not following you! I'm just heading in the direction of the other fish!"

"What _other _fish?"

"The ones underwater!".

_Maybe if I threaten him he might actually leave me in peace. _

"If you follow me, I'm just going to have to kill you. You get that?"

"Try me."

Without even looking Syndra angrily threw a sphere in his direction.

"Missed."

Turning around she saw Fizz standing there with a smile on his face and a sphere directly behind him and yelled at him in exasperation.

"How many times do I have to tell you to JUST. FUCK OFF!"

"10 times or so usually does it."

"THEN FUCK OFF!"

And without even hesitating she threw all the spheres she could manage straight at him.

And then water engulfed everything around her.

* * *

><p>After wandering around aimlessly along the beach for what seemed like hours, Diana just wanted to abandon the search and believe Syndra had just disappeared off the face of the planet. Syndra wasn't anywhere near the restaurants or the volleyball courts or any of the other champions, or on the beach, and the entire idea of finding a floating mage was beginning to seem ridiculous. As she was just about to give up, another champion entered her view.<p>

_This is completely absurd, but I'll try it anyway. _

"Excuse me um….fish, but have you seen Syndra anywhere? She's a mage, controls water, dark spheres?"

_I knew this would be a stupid idea._

"You're following her as well? I was following her and then she got mad at me and there was this enormous wave and it was just like BOOM, and it was so cool! I've never seen anything like it!"

"Do you know where she went? Or what she's doing?"

"I told her that wave was really cool and she got this strange look in her eyes and went to talk to Nami about something!"

"Well where's Nami then?"

"Out at the jetty, of course! Is Syndra up to something? Can I wa-"

But Diana was already sprinting towards the jetty.

* * *

><p>As Syndra approached the jetty she began to realise how energetic she was actually feeling. The sheer energy of channeling water had sent chills through her spine and she knew instinctively she needed more. Much more. And if she needed to <em>convince<em> a few people to help her, then so be it. But she was going to create a storm so large it would dwarf the entire island, and leave mages talking about it for years to come.

The _perfect _storm.


	5. The Fury of the Storm

**_It's summer where I live, so this chapter is about as Christmassy as it gets._**

**_Except for the torturing into submission. Don't do that._**

**_Anyway, enjoy yourselves over the New Year!_**

* * *

><p>Being surrounded by the deep blue hues and the fresh air of the ocean was just as exhilarating as Syndra expected. The enormous amount of water, the purity of it, the sheer amount of potential that it contained…..<p>

Raising her arm, she sent a wave of water several feet high crashing towards the island without even trying, and then rapidly lost interest.

_I could probably create a large enough storm to scare those fools by myself….._

_But this isn't about teaching those fools a lesson._

_This is about being part of the storm itself!_

"Nami!_"_

No response.

_Damn Marai's wandered off again._

"Don't make me come down there and find you!"

Still no response.

_Why did I ever let that Marai go back underwater in the first place…_

"NAMI!"

A few seconds later, something sleek, long, and shiny leapt out of the water and did a backflip, showering Syndra with tiny droplets of water. Barely missing her face with its tail, it crashed down into the water again, and then Nami poked her head out from underwater besides Syndra's airborne body.

"….Did you see that flip? That must have looked awesome!"

The Marai had nearly flown out of the water when Syndra asked if she wanted to go out into the deeper water and as Syndra was reluctant to get herself wet, the Marai had constantly vanished into the depths and reappeared again minutes later holding pieces of coral and other bits and pieces she found vaguely interesting. As the Marai swam around Syndra in circles holding another piece of coral, Syndra just stared at her disapprovingly.

"I've told you twice already don't go disappearing underwater like that!"

Shrinking back into the water the Marai pretended to sulk for a few seconds before giving up and went right back to bothering Syndra again.

"Don't you want to come underwater too? Pleeeeaaasseee? It's nice and warm and everything!"

"No. We are here for a reason."

Apparently that caught the Marai's interest and she suddenly leapt out of the water again with a smile.

"What's that?"

"To create the perfect storm!"

The Marai stopped smiling eagerly and frowned .

"I don't want to upset the summoners or champions….,"

"Don't be stupid. It's not going to be that large a storm. It might just get a few people wet!"

"But aren't storms like…dangerous?"

"Pfft. Nobody finds storms dangerous anymore. I mean what's there to hurt people! Just water and wind!"

"I guess….So how do we start?"

Looking around it occurred to Syndra that she hadn't actually thought that much about before the storm was already at full strength.

"Well…if you control the waves from over there and _I_ control the waves over here, surely we should get a pretty big storm eventually!"

"On it Captain!"

About to correct it to Mistress, Syndra was secretly pleased with how the situation was going and decided to let that one mistake quietly slide. Then she began to get to work.

* * *

><p>Frustrated with herself for not having made it to the jetty before Syndra vanished, the walk back to the middle of the island only reminded Diana of why she would never be stupid enough to visit an island again.<p>

_Everything's either sand, trees or rocks. I'm not even sure what I was concerned about in the first place, it's not like Syndra isn't an intelligent mature woman. So all I've done is show up, get concerned over nothing and run around the island a few times._

_Hmph._

_Still now that Syndra's gone I wonder if there's a bar around here….._

"Oh hello!"

_Who is that?_

"I'm Emily. You don't know me but I'm absolutely fascinated with the Lunari and I was just wondering if we could talk for a little bit?"

"You're a summoner?"

"No, unfortunately. I'm simply a mage working for the institute. Do you mind if we…"

At just that moment they made their way back to the hub of the island and Diana saw Irelia come into view. Silently, she cursed to herself.

_Ok. Just juggle conversations. It can't be that hard…._

"I just have to talk to someone urgently. Do you mind…"

Quickly leaving Emily in her wake she walked over to Irelia only to find herself questioned before she even opened her mouth.

"Did you find Syndra?"

"She went to talk to Nami, and when I went to find Nami they were both gone. They're probably in the middle of the ocean by now."

Irelia cursed loud enough that Diana wondered if Emily was in earshot.

"We need to find Karma. Convince her to get people off the island in case something happens."

"Whatever. As long as it doesn't involve more walking…"

* * *

><p>As Syndra attempted to drive the waves around her into a fury, a wave over 12 feet tall slammed right into her and she reformed it without even flinching, and it continued travelling towards the shore. .<p>

Solely focused on driving the waves larger and larger Syndra shouted an order in Nami's general direction.

"Do it again!"

Releasing, Syndra pushed all the water she could away from her, only to lose concentration just as another wave even taller than the last bared down on her. Then Nami emerged from underwater, took one look at her and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny!?"

"You're wet! You didn't want to explore with me and now you're soaking and it's so…."

Nami then burst out laughing again.

"Well I'm just going to have to dry off then!"

"Are you sure? Don't you want me to show you something?" As the Marai began to try and imitate an petulant child, Syndra forced herself to look in the other direction.

_We have things we need to be doing_.

_Things._

_The storm isn't large enough. It needs….._

_There's an idea._

"I'm going to find someone. Stay here and…find something interesting to look at."

As she flew in the other direction she faintly heard the sound of Nami doing another excited backflip into the ocean again.

* * *

><p>Luckily for Diana, the Duchess of Ionia was sunbathing exactly where Irelia said she had left her. Unfortunately, she had started arguing with Irelia which left Diana craving a visit to the bar instead of standing around in the heat, surrounded by interested men and secretly agreeing with everything Karma said.<p>

"Irelia….you're being paranoid."

"This is SYNDRA we are dealing with here."

"So? She's a champion! She needs a holiday just like the rest of us do."

"She. Is. Insane."

"From what you've told me she actually seems to be more sane than she usually is."

"She tried to get me to wear a bikini down here."

"That seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. It might stop you wallowing in your own contempt for once."

"I am not…..you would be wallowing in contempt too if you went through what I went through!"

"Diana. Leave. It."

"Why don't you two just go and try surfing or volleyball together!"

Diana slowly began to back away from the conversation and head towards the bar, fully agreeing with Karma about everything that didn't involve making a fool of herself.

"Diana where are you…?"

"I'll be at the bar."

"Still Irelia, it's nice to see you're making friends!"

And with Irelia suddenly bringing up the rear, Diana soon burst headlong into the bar.

* * *

><p>Having floated all the way back to the island, Syndra suddenly realised how difficult things would become if even one step of her plan failed, but as usual, her stubbornness managed to keep her focused.<p>

_If I was her, what would I be doing on the island…._

_Getting a tan? Well her skin is nearly colourless._

_Guess I'll just walk along the beach and try and find her without gathering any attention._

As she walked along the most crowded part of the beach with the sun baring down on her and nowhere to sneak off to in sight, she became vaguely aware that some of the lewder male champion were staring at her and suddenly became aware of how naked she actually was. Then one of them actually spoke.

"Howdy georgeous! What's yer name?"

_Shit!_

"You're one of the most beautiful gals I've ver seen. And I've seen a lot of gals."

Just as Syndra was about to insult the man in the most offensive thing she could think of, another woman walked up next to them so suddenly that Syndra wondered if the entire island was somehow staring at her bikini.

"So, Graves, who's this lady that's even more attractive than me then?"

_Excuse me?_

"Oh, Fortune, everyone knows you're the most attractive lady here by a mile."

_EXCUSE ME?_

"No offence to this lady over here of course."

As stealthily as she possibly could Syndra pushed the redhead over with her magic, and watched in a combination of hilarity and contempt as every single male on the beach went over to help her up.

_Men!_

With everyone's attention diverted Syndra continued to travel along the shore. Then the exact person she was looking for walked out alone in front of her and she paused in amazement.

_Well that was a little easier than I thought it was going to be._

"Excuse me, Janna, I was just wondering if you could help me with something…."

Janna's eyes narrowed so much Syndra wondered what exactly she was squinting at before she realised it was suspicion.

"Help you with what, exactly?"

"It's a little hard to explain…..I just want to create a storm and see what it feels like!"

"No."

"And why not?"

As Syndra watched, Janna buried her head in her hands, before slowly facing Syndra again.

"Maybe it's because you're a insane power hungry mage and I don't trust you with making a storm next to the island that all my friends are enjoying themselves on?"

"It's not going to be that big…..and it's not like your friends are going to care if they get rained on anyway!"

"No. And that's final."

In shock, Syndra realised that due to her enthusiasm she hadn't made a backup plan.

Then without even pausing to think she picked Janna up and slammed her against the ground. Hard. Nothing moved. No one came out and started screaming at her and for a few seconds she just stood there over Janna's limp body.

_I guess that would be my backup plan then._

_Is she-?_

Hesitantly she checked for breathing and found a faint response.

_Good._

Then she grabbed the limp body and floated back towards where Nami was with it in tow.

_It's not like I expected you to agree with me immediately anyway._

* * *

><p>Apparently <em>relaxing <em>next to Luxanna was every bit as interesting as Emily thought it was going to be, not in the least due to their shared interest in magic.

_Whoever would have guessed that this would be so productive? I'm even getting a nice tan while I work!_

Just as she was about to ask another question that she knew the answer to anyway, someone bolted out of the blue pulled someone off their deckchair by the neck, and roared loud enough for half the beach to hear.

"Janna's been kidnapped by Syndra and I'm going to put a sword straight through that fucker! You understand!"

_Well damn this is interesting._

"Yasuo maybe we should think about…."

"That wasn't a question!"

Emily got up at the same time Yasuo released Karma from his grip and stormed off towards the two enormous boats in the distance.

_Time to talk to Diana some more._

* * *

><p>"This bar is great. You know what it really needs though? More people."<p>

Having vastly overestimated the amount of people that would be in the bar, Diana had rapidly downed at least 3 glasses to avoid sitting in complete silence, and suddenly found her opinions rising to the surface. Luckily for her, Irelia seemed to be going through exactly the same thing.

"You got that right. I mean how are we the only people who go to a beach to get drunk? There have to be others. Riven…Tryndamere…"

"The leader of the Freljord on a beach? Don't be fucking stupid."

"….What are we doing here."

"I don't know!"

"Exactly!"

"… We really should get to know each other more."

Diana nearly burst out laughing at that statement.

"I don't have an existence to know about."

"Sure, sure you don't."

"You want to know about my past? I was rejected by my family and everyone I lived with for learning, nearly got executed, killed a bunch of important people and was hunted by the Rakkor for 3 months, living off fruits and nuts before the Institute _threatened to hand me over to them _if I didn't join. Great story huh?"

Irelia turned around and looked Diana dead in the eyes.

"I'm dead."

Diana spat out her drink over the unattended counter.

"You're wha-?"

The door to the bar then flew open for the first time in 20 minutes to reveal Karma who looked like she'd been attacked by a ghost.

"Irelia, we need to talk, now!"

Deciding the information was probably private, Diana zoned out of the conversation for a few brief seconds before suddenly being brought back in with a thud.

"Janna's been kidnapped by Syndra!"

Then Diana sprinted out of the bar.

_A boat! I need to find a fucking boat! I thought I saw one just nearby,…_

The boat was still exactly where she had seen it earlier and seeing Irelia close in on it as well filled Diana with confidence despite having absolutely no idea how to sail. Then the yelling started.

"Don't try to stop me, or I'll kill you!"

"If you want to tackle Syndra without our help, go right ahead!"

As someone appeared out of nowhere and sat down on the pier beside her, Diana found herself engrossed in the ongoing spectacle until Emily spoke quite loudly and pointed at the largest ship on the pier.

"If you're looking for a boat you can use mine."

Diana looked at Irelia, who was boarding the boat. Irelia looked at Yasuo who had already leapt on the boat. Yasuo looked back at Irelia and then Emily spoke up again.

"So none of you landlubbers have ever captained a boat?"

More resounding silence.

"Well it looks like it's time for you to learn how to man the HMS Horker!"

* * *

><p>"Syndra, Syndra, look at what I fou-"<p>

"I need waves. Now."

An expression of pain and confusion crossed the Marai's face as soon as she saw Janna's limp body being dragged horizontally behind Syndra.

"Is she alright?!"

"She tripped."

"But now she's wet all over and she might get cold!"

"She'll live. Now start. Channeling. Waves!"

As the Marai begun, although more hesitantly than before, Syndra began to summon a wall of water around her and Janna.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need some privacy so when Janna wakes up I can….take care of her."

As the wall of water finished engulfing the two of them Syndra looked again at Janna's comatose body before creating a orb of water in her hands.

_Oh I'll take care of her alright. I just have to wait until she wakes up. _

_Or not._

Then she dropped it on Janna's face.

"Wake up!"

Janna didn't move, which only served to male Syndra frustrated.

"Did you not _hear_ me? Do I _have _to be a bit louder? I said….."

Grabbing Janna's body she twisted it until her ear was only an inch away from her mouth and sprayed her face with more water.

"WAAAKE UP!"

Janna suddenly burst into a coughing fit, her eyes barely opening as Syndra watched in amusement. Then her eyes opened wider as she realised where she was and she gasped, only to set off another coughing fit.

"you….you're a monster…."

In response Syndra simply stopped using her magic and watched as Janna suddenly fell straight into the water, before yanking her out as if she was attached to a chain.

"Is some of your magic not working properly? What a shame. I guess you'll just have to rely on mine then. In the meantime…you might as well help me with this storm, like a good support."

"I'd….I'd rather die before I help you!"

"Well I guess I'll go ahead and kill your bird friend! Would be a shame if the bubble he was trapped in went underwater by accident and burst, hmmm?"

No response. The wind mage was completely soaked through, shivering and seemed to have nearly broken down completely and Syndra couldn't help feeling proud of her power.

Then she snapped out of it and got back to the task at hand.

"Well? Don't just lie there in a stupor! GET TO WORK!"

* * *

><p>"Keelhaul to the main sail!"<p>

Diana wasn't entirely sure what that translated to, but had long given up doing anything but holding on to the edge of the ship, trying to stay upright and out of the torrential rain and waves as much as she possibly could, while watching Irelia somehow sprint around the ship with perfect balance and follow Emily's commands.

"A bit further to the left! No, the right! That's perfect!"

As a ferocious gust of wind nearly sent Irelia sprawling Diana found herself gripping the boat even tighter, seemingly trying to crush the rails in her grip.

"How much stronger is the wind going to get?!"

"If you think it's windy now, then you're going to be in for a shock!"

Curious about how they were going to stay afloat let alone make any headway against stronger winds, Diana suddenly jerked into motion as Emily called out from at the head of the boat.

"There they are!"

As Diana sprinted towards Syndra, Yasuo began gaining speed in the same direction.

"The witch is mine!"

"No! She's my friend and my responsibility!"

"Diana get out of his way!"

"Not a chance!"

Then Syndra's voice boomed directly in their direction.

"_LEAVE, OR FEEL MY WRATH, FOOLS!"_

Floating in the air with Janna around 3 metres away from her, Syndra menacingly began to advance straight towards them with murderous intent while the boat begun to slide around relentlessly due to the surrounding waves and wind. As Diana continued to sprint towards Syndra at full speed, focusing on reaching her before Yasuo did, Syndra merely released half a dozen pitch black orbs which flew directly at the two of them. Instinctively, Diana created a shield,, and as the momentum threw her backwards, she watched, unable to deflect her gaze as Yasuo deflected the orbs and charged straight at Syndra with his sword raised.

Then someone screamed.

Syndra fell out of the air and landed hard on the deck of the boat.

Yasuo vanished off the same side of the boat.

And the storm dissipated completely.

After standing on the deck for a few seconds Diana suddenly found the energy to move and travelled straight towards Syndra's limp body.

"Syndra…."

She gulped, embarrassed at what she was going to say.

"I'm sorry…..for abandoning you….however I'm not very impressed with what you've done."

Irelia coughed. Diana turned around, saw her facial expression and withheld the urge to kick her in the face.

"She's a member of the League, not a child."

"Shut the _fuck _up!"

"You know you really shouldn't hold yourself responsible for what she's….."

"_I SAID, SHUT THE FUCK UP!"_

"…_."_

Backtracking Diana desperately tried to explain her reasoning completely to her own benefit.

"I mean…she is human…and she seemed to be perfectly reasonable if not a bit irresponsible until I abandoned her…and if I had a little bit more time I could have…"

"You are aware it's a non-fatal injury, right?"

Diana stopped and forcing herself to look at Syndra's wound, found a blade only slightly larger than her hand embedded in Syndra's side.

_Yasuo never reached her….._

"You did this."

"I have been known to help my allies out occasionally."

After a long pause Diana realised she had to speak.

"Put Syndra in a room somewhere comfortable. We don't want to make her mad. And get us back to the shore."

Then something occurred to her.

"Where's Yasuo?"

Then she saw the aqua prison with Yasuo and Janna inside it floating next to the boat and the massive wave forming underneath it.

And ironically it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.


End file.
